Projects

Currently, there are ongoing studies in the following domains:

Exploring the role of the prefrontal cortex in remembering and forgetting

Healthy people remember positive experiences better than negative. In patients with depression, this is exactly the opposite. In our previous study, we have used a non-invasive method, tDCS, to influence left frontal brain function so that healthy people form more positive new memories.

In this project, we will repeat this in patients with depression. The left frontal brain is important for remembering, the right for forgetting. In addition to forming new positive memories, the project will also investigate how negative memories can be forgotten using tDCS. Finally, this project will explore how brain networks change with modulation of frontal brain function and whether this will depend on age. This project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Starting Grant).

Supporting incidental learning with transcranial direct current stimulation in healthy young and elderly adults

Much of our learning is acquired on the way, that is, we pick up information without having the explicit intention to memorize. This type of learning is referred to as ‘incidental’ since it happens without a specific plan or instruction to do so.

In this research project, we examine which brain regions are involved in incidental learning (in comparison to intentional learning) in younger and older healthy adults as well as in psychiatric diseases. We us transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in combination with functional MRI.

Targeting hippocampal hyperactivity with real-time fMRI neurofeedback or with mental strategies

Several studies in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have shown that increased activity in the hippocampus during pattern separation tasks in the MR scanner is associated with worse cognition and stronger accumulation of amyloid-ß over time. Pharmacological treatment of this hyperactivity reduced hyperactivity and improved memory, indicating a potential therapeutic target. However, pharmacological interventions have their disadvantages and limitations including side effects, reservations against medication, and non-response. A potential alternative might be real-time fMRI neurofeedback, with which participants can learn to voluntarily ‘control’ region specific brain activity.

In a recently finished study, we used real-time fMRI based neurofeedback to reduce hippocampal hyperactivity and thereby improve memory. We extracted all mental strategies that participants have used to downregulate hippocampal activity. In a new study, we will use these mental strategies to examine whether downregulation would also be possible without using neurofeedback.

Automated speech analysis

Cognitive tasks are mostly analysed in terms of quantitative features (e.g., the number of recalled words after learning or the number of animals named in a fluency task). With automated speech analysis, however, additional features can be extracted. We aim to automatically extract features from speech recordings during different tasks (e.g., word learning, verbal fluency, or simply telling a story) in healthy volunteers as well as in clinical populations (see here for the collaborating partner).

Prospective memory and ageing: Neural processing and the influence of motivation

Prospective memory is the ability to look ahead in time, plan when to do what, and then do it. This project aimed to investigate the influence of motivation on prospective memory as well as to explore the underlying neuroanatomical correlates. We have used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and functional MRI. The project was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (project funding).